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Honors

Independent Study/Senior HonorsEmily Dangremond (class of 2008) and Tiffany Knight collecting demographic data on the endangered plant, Tidestrom’s lupine at Point Reyes National Seashore, California.

To qualify for Independent Study, Directed Research, Directed Field Work, Internship or Senior Honors you must complete the Independent Study/Honors form. Please turn form into the Environmental Studies office, room 244 in the Earth and Planetary Science building.

Latin Honors

In order to receive "Latin Honors," the designation of cum laude, magna cum laude, or summa cum laude on transcripts and diplomas, you must have maintained a 3.5 grade point average through the final semester.

Students interested in pursuing Latin Honors must enroll in EnSt 498 in the Fall, and EnSt 499 in the Spring.  The fall course gathers all the students pursuing Latin Honors together. The professor teaching the course goes over all the details, and necessary information about writing a successful honor thesis.  The class meets a few times a semester.  In Spring the student will enroll in EnSt 499 under the section number of their EnSt Faculty advisor.  In the spring the student works exclusively with their faculty advisor.

The Program’s recommendation for Honors is based on grade point average (GPA), and submission of a Senior Honors Thesis. Be aware that conferral of Honors requires the recommendation not only of the major department but also of the Committee on Honors of the College of Arts and Sciences.

 

The Program’s guidelines for levels of Senior Honors are as follows:

  1. A.B. cum laude: a minimum GPA of 3.5, and a satisfactory Senior Honors Thesis.
  2. A.B. magna cum laude: a minimum GPA of 3.65, and an outstanding Senior Honors Thesis.
  3. A.B. summa cum laude: a minimum GPA of 3.8, and an exceptional Senior Honors Thesis.

The Senior Honors thesis should reflect substantial effort. It should begin with an introduction putting the work into an environmental studies context while reviewing relevant literature. A methods section, more extensive than a journal article’s, should demonstrate that the student understands the methods used. Results and discussion may be combined or presented separately. Tables, figures, and bibliographies should be in a standard form. As a student rarely completely solves a problem within the available time, an indication of what should be done next is often appropriate.

The Honors Thesis will be read by a committee** of at least three faculty members and its merit evaluated in accord with the level of Honors considered. The student should select a faculty member to guide the generation of this thesis the semester before the work is to begin. The Honors Thesis should be completed and given to the student’s committee members by Spring Break of their senior year.

To be considered as a candidate for Honors please fill out the form on page 6 of the curriculum guide.